


Bullet Holes

by Player_1



Series: Ephemer the Graveyard Janitor [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (Clearly) unresolved tension, Dark Inferno is Ephemer's Heartless (mentioned), Gen, Just a What-If scenario...A lot of what-if's, Post KH3 speculations/spoilers, Repressed Memories, Slight mention of character death(s), Surprise! Here's an Angry Boy!, Twilight Thorn is Ephemer's Nobody, mention of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-15 02:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20858882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Player_1/pseuds/Player_1
Summary: The evidence lingers on your body and mind for the rest of your life, bringing stories of pain, courage, and sacrifices.While I had nothing to show, I wish I knew what I did to deserve the scars.





	Bullet Holes

If looks could kill, I'm pretty sure I would have shot him dead by now.   
  
With the Guardians of Light treating me greatly, I was more than thrilled to have someone..._alive_ to talk to. Sure, I enjoyed the company back at the Graveyard, they were my saving grace, but I love the thought that after so long, I can do something to help for real.  
  
I got to see how that tiny beach back home turned into a thriving utopia of seashells and papou.   
I visited the King's original home, filled with cheer and fun.  
I finally got to meet Ven's new friends face-to-face, living, breathing stories instead of Terra's lost Will.  
I learned of the search for the remaining Dandelions, scattered across the Worlds like the namesake flower.  
But once I'm ready, I can finally get my old life back...  
  
But when I met Roxas the second time, past my phantom state and chivalrous Heartless, something within me stirred, an unsettling but familiar Darkness. Of course, the little signs went unnoticed: a twinge of force in our handshake, blocking out his conversations in a sea of noise, practically making him nonexistent in my mind's eye; saying I wasn't paying attention, just the simple excuses. Riku told me beforehand, his unfortunate run-ins with the ex-Organization member and his surprise on how similar he looks to Ven, just the simple things...While I was a bit apprehensive about the latter, he _was_ different than Ven; a darker shade of the bright and ambitious blonde I knew of before.  
_Still, I can't wait for Skuld to freak about this...Double the Ven, double the fun, I suppose..._  
  
But the day I was set to visit Twilight Town with Roxas and his friends, however, the dark being within me laughed in triumph.  
No matter how hard I wanted to enjoy the sights, ride the train car, hang out in the square, watch a Struggle match, and especially try the famous sea-salt ice cream, this _thing _didn't seem to go away...  
_If I had my Keyblade right about now, I'll cut it down to size...  
_And just like that, a hand rested on my shoulder, snapping me out of that Darkness.

"-Seriously kid, what's been bugging you?" Nevertheless, I quickly wiggled out of Lea's grasp.  
"What a-...What are you talking about?"  
"You serious about that?" The redhead casually snickered, "You've been shooting daggers at Roxas the whole time, I'm surprised no one mentioned it."  
"Really? That's, uh...that's weird." _I should've known someone will notice, how could I forget?_ "But yeah, I guess I have...Do I _have_ to tell you? It's...complicated."  
"Well, it's better than explaining anything to those two." He pointed a thumb to the empty street, already heading to the ice cream stand; "How about we head over to the clocktower? It might clear your head."

_The clocktower...Alike but so different. As long as I don't have to worry about the end of the world again, that's fine with me._

~~

"Have you been up here before?" Lea comically asked, taking some stress off as I tapped my heels on the edge, just watching the birds fly by.  
"Not really, but we had a room in the clocktower back home. It was more of a chore to get up to the top, though."  
"Oh yeah, I think you said something about that..." He cracked a slight grin, draping his arm over his knee; "Still, I can't wrap my head around it. You and Ven being from the Age of Fairytales sounds wild...I thought he was just a special kid or something."  
"Well get used to it, 'cause we're _way _older than you! No reason to call us kids anymore."  
"But I can still call you short, you know." Shooting a mediocre glare, he laughed once more; "Besides that, did you have something going on with Roxas?"

_Oh right, I can't keep ignoring it forever..._  
"To be honest, I'm not too sure how to explain it." I cast my sights to the plaza below, "It feels like I know something about him, but I don't remember meeting him before...That's just weird, right?"  
"Bud, you're asking the _wrong_ person about that. Have you seen my life right now?"  
"As if you know about mine." I slightly pouted, "And here I thought you could help me here."

"Oh boy..." Lea sighed aloud, scratching the back of his head; "But now that you mentioned it, you might of had some kind of problem with your Nobody."  
"Really? How exactly?"   
"Well, when a Nobody is created, they could take the form of who they were as a human. Usually, they have their memories to go along with it, and when they're destroyed their Somebody gets everything back plus the Nobody's memories. I'm sure you got that lecture from Yen Sid, right?"  
"Yeah, for the most part..." _Still, they're way more confusing than the Heartless, that's for sure._  
"That's good to hear, so your Nobody's memories must've gotten mixed up somewhere. So there you go, problem solved!"  
  
While I hate to admit it, he may be right...But-  
"But _that's_ my problem, I just don't know where I stand in this." The Darkness roared to life once more, fueled by my own folly; "I didn't disappear like everyone else, I was just _there, _right there in the Graveyard. I could have actual conversations with my Heartless, and I had no idea that Nobodies even _existed_! While it would've been cool to read Inferno's mind, I had absolutely no connections. I was just-..._cut off_ from everything I knew about myself." 

His mouth was agape like a fish, but it quickly shut itself as he failed to make a comeback.  
"Look...Let's step back to the beginning." Lea unfortunately sighed once more, rubbing his temples in thought; "We can just assume your Nobody met Roxas, right?"  
"I guess so...But it's strange. Ever since we got here, I've been getting this feeling like I want to punch his face in." _Besides the multiple close-calls from Terra's murder-suit and Vanitas' living anger issues, the cycle of aggression still spins._  
"So what? Maybe your Nobody just had a bone to pick, so that's that. There's no need to get so worked up about it, you got yourself back."

_Right...-I mean, I never would be here if my Nobody and Inferno weren't defeated. Solve two wrongs with a right, I suppose._  
"Of course...Thanks for this, Lea. -Oh right, can you make sure Roxas doesn't know about this? I want to tell him once I get everything sorted out."  
"Sure thing." 

~~~ 

"...I think I messed up."   
"Messed up on what?" She childishly pouted, hands on her hips; "Did you forget your munny?" As much as I wanted to disagree, just something to turn the mood, I wasn't laughing now.  
"No, no, not that. Just-...Haven't you been noticing anything _strange _today?"  
"Not in the slightest. Come on Roxas, what are you talking about?"  
"-It's about Ephemer, okay? He's just been..._staring_ at me, like he wants to murder me in my sleep or something." _I really hope that doesn't happen...I just got an actual body, all for myself, and I definitely don't want to lose it anytime soon._

"Aren't you overreacting a bit? I would be upset if I met someone that looked like you, Roxas."  
_Of course, not counting Ven, I guess..._  
"I _really _don't think that's the problem...-This might sound crazy, but I might've done something _really_ bad to him."  
"_Oh?_" Her frown deepened, "And what was that supposed to be?"

_Man, if Sora was here, he would understand my pain..._  
"Okay, um...Remember when I told you about that fake Twilight Town I was stuck in?"  
"Of course, Axel told me about it too. Kinda gives me the creeps."  
"Yeah, I know...But there was something I didn't tell you, not even Axel." I sucked in a breath, already feeling my blood freeze in fear; "For some reason, I was at the Station of Awakening, and there was this giant Nobody there. It was as tall as a Darkside, had this really weird and wiggly scarf, and it really _really _wanted to hurt me."  
"Why would it want to do that?" Xion frantically asked, engrossed in the tale.  
"I don't know, but I was sure it wanted to take me back to the Organization, alive or not. And even if I didn't know at the time, I had to destroy it."

_Still, that entire battle messed with my head...How did a Lesser Nobody have that much strength?_  
"I know that sounds horrible Roxas, but how does that relate to Ephemer hating you?"  
"Well...I know it sounds stupid to say it now, but I'm pretty sure _that_ was Ephemer's Nobody."  
Whatever she had in mind went right out the window, surely turning pale in equal dread.

"Are-...Are you sure?"  
"There's no other Nobody with a scarf, huh? Heck, even his Heartless had one! I'm in so much trouble, I know it..."  
"But he didn't say anything about it, right? If he does try to hurt you, I'm not going to leave your side, no matter what."   
"Thanks Xion...-Oh yeah, can you keep this a secret from Ephemer?"  
"You can always count on me!" She beamed a smile as bright as the sun; "Now come on, let's get some ice cream!"

**Author's Note:**

> Ephemer: Telling Lea on how he had to suffer a literal disconnect between his heart and body for 10+ years.  
Lea: _Man, I didn't sign up to babysit another ki- HOLD UP, HE's OlDeR ThAn Me!!!1!!1!___


End file.
